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01 October 2020

 

Politics in South Africa: ‘Post-COVID-19, Post-crisis’  

As a public higher-education institution in South Africa with a responsibility to contribute to public discourse, the University of the Free State (UFS) will be presenting the third UFS Thought-Leader Series in collaboration with Vrye Weekblad as part of the Vrystaat Literature Festival’s online initiative, VrySpraak-digitaal. 

This year, higher-education institutions globally are situated within a challenging context of COVID-19. Aware of, and grounded in the reality that the world will not return to the normality of pre-COVID-19, our responsibility as scholars still remains to contribute to public discourse and offer innovative solutions that will impact the lives of people nationally and globally to help them understand and adapt to a new world order. 

Against this background and context, this year’s debates focus on Post-COVID-19, Post-Crisis with Health and Modelling, the Economy, Politics and Predictions for 2021 as the sub-themes. Placed within a COVID-19 context and in lieu of the Free State Arts Festival, the series will be presented virtually in the form of one webinar per month from August 2020 to November 2020. 

Third webinar presented on 15 October 2020

The political landscape in South Africa was in a logjam before the COVID-19 pandemic, unable to deal decisively with the economic crisis. The worldwide COVID-19 crisis has aggravated an already dire situation. 

What should happen politically and economically to get South Africa on the path to recovery? And what are the prospects for the political landscape in South Africa post-COVID-19, post-crisis?
 
Date: 15 October 2020
Topic: Politics in South Africa: Post-COVID-19, Post-Crisis 
Time: 11:00-12:30

RSVP: Alicia Pienaar, pienaaran1@ufs.ac.za by 12 October 2020


Facilitator:

Editor: Vrye Weekblad 
Biography

Introduction and welcome:

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, UFS

Panellists:
Deputy Chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs
(SAIIA)
Biography

Law Trust Chair in Social Justice, Stellenbosch University
Biography
 
Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Poverty, Inequality and Economic Development, UFS 
Biography

Chairman: Bidvest Group Limited, Chancellor of the UFS 
Biography

 

News Archive

National accolade for Dr Philemon Akach
2013-10-21

 

Dr Philemon Akach
Photo: Sonia Small
21 October 2013


Excellence in Teaching and Learning is highly regarded at the University of the Free State, with our academics recognised on national and international platform.

Earning yet another accolade for the university, Dr Philemon Akach, Head of the Department of South African Sign Language, has been awarded a National Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award. The award by the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) and Council on Higher Education (CHE), recognised Dr Akach as a “leader in the field of teaching and learning – with impact beyond the classroom and the institution.” Recognising his pioneering work within deaf education, HELTASA and CHE commend Dr Akach as an “inspirational practitioner who recognises the inclusion of the marginalised in education.”

Dr Akach is one of five recipients, selected out of a total of 22 candidates from across South Africa that will receive the award. The other winners are from the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Pretoria. The five winners will receive the awards at a gala dinner at the annual HELTASA conference, which takes place from 26 to 29 November 2013.

Dr Akach, who will retire at the end of 2014, says the national recognition is the cherry on top as he prepares to return to his home country. Kenya. “How good can it be?” “This is my life calling,” he said about the 37 years he worked within deaf education.

The academic also received an Alumni Award for Outstanding Service at the recent Kovsie Alumni Awards.

Pioneering work by Dr Akach:

  • With Dr Akach steering the process, the UFS became the first university on the continent to offer Sign Language as an academic course in 1999.
  • Dr Akach was part of a nine-member task team that handed over the South African Sign Language (SASL) curriculum to the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga. A member of the ministerial task team since 2009, he helped to coordinate the development of the curriculum that will soon be offered as a school subject to Grade 0–12 learners in all 42 schools for the deaf in South Africa.

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